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In every area of practice, WilmerHale brings the insight, dedication to excellence, and commitment to client service needed for our clients to achieve their business objectives. Our five-department structure and team approach to service enable us to provide the highest level of responsiveness and access to lawyers with the most appropriate experience.

Michael Leotta conducts internal investigations and represents corporations and individuals in matters involving criminal law, securities law and regulations, the Bank Secrecy Act, and anti-money laundering rules. He represents clients involved in investigations by the DOJ, the SEC, US and international financial regulators, self-regulatory organizations, and Congressional committees. He also advises media companies in First Amendment and criminal matters.

Mr. Leotta served for nine years in government, including as an attorney in the White House Counsel's Office, as an Assistant US Attorney prosecuting fraud and public corruption, and as Appellate Chief and Ethics Advisor at the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.

Practice

Mr. Leotta has recently conducted internal investigations on behalf of global financial institutions, domestic and foreign defense contractors, a hospital company, and a university. He has represented companies and individuals in response to investigations by the DOJ, the Manhattan DA, the SEC, FINRA, state financial regulators, and Congress on a number of topics, including allegations of:

Bank Secrecy Act / AML program violations,

securities fraud and insider trading

government contracting fraud,

violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,

political corruption,

obstruction of Congress,

illegal access to computers, and

other federal crimes.

He has represented individuals who are subjects or witnesses in internal corporate and criminal investigations and prosecutions, including federal and state government officials, attorneys, a journalist, and a defense contractor.

Mr. Leotta has also counseled companies on compliance matters, including compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act / AML regulations, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and statutes applicable to media companies.

Recent Highlights

An international internal investigation into potential issues with an international bank’s AML transaction surveillance systems in numerous countries around the world, including presentations to the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority;

An internal investigation into the causes of issues with an international bank’s AML transaction surveillance system used for dollar clearing transactions in the United States, including presentations to the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, the NY Department of Financial Services, the NY Attorney General’s Office, FinCEN, the Department of Justice, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority;

An internal investigation and representation of a global financial institution in response to DOJ and SEC investigations of insider trading, money laundering, and securities-law violations by a financial advisor and clients in California and China (resulting in an order that the financial institution be paid $1.4 million in restitution);

Representation of a global financial institution in a SEC and FinCEN investigation of the institution’s AML program and its program to prevent misuse of material nonpublic information;

Joint representation of a global financial institution and its personnel in a FINRA investigation of its AML controls related to branches along the southwest border;

An internal investigation and representation of a global financial institution in response to a grand jury investigation into potential money laundering by clients in Texas and Mexico;

An internal investigation and joint representation of a global financial institution and its personnel in response to a federal grand jury investigation into potential money laundering by clients in Florida and Venezuela;

An internal investigation and representation of a global financial institution in response to a FINRA investigation into potential insider trading by a financial advisor and clients in Florida and Colombia;

An internal investigation into potential insider trading by a financial advisor who was related to a pharmaceutical company insider;

Representation of a global financial institution in response to a SEC inquiry regarding potential insider trading by clients in advance of the public announcement of a DOJ lawsuit;

Joint representation of a global financial institution and its personnel in response to a SEC inquiry regarding potential insider trading by clients in advance of the acquisition of a pharmaceutical company;

Representation of a global financial institution in response to an SEC inquiry regarding potential insider trading by a company executive using a 10b5-1 plan; and

Numerous internal investigations of potential violations of federal and state criminal law, insider trading, and company ethics policies on behalf of an international financial organization.

Corporate Internal Investigations and Representations

Some recent highlights of Mr. Leotta’s work on behalf of corporations include:

Representation of a global medical device manufacturer in response to a federal government request to show cause why the manufacturer should not be debarred from government contracting;

Representation of a foreign defense contractor in a joint SEC and DOJ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation related to business in Brazil and Colombia;

An internal investigation of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by an international corporation doing business in the Middle East;

An internal investigation on behalf of a Maryland hospital-management company into alleged federal criminal violations by its CEO;

Litigation on behalf of a global energy company facing a federal grand jury investigation related to an oil spill; and

Representation of a renewable energy company facing a Congressional document request relating to the Department of Energy loan-guarantee program.

Individual Representations

Some recent highlights of Mr. Leotta’s representation of individuals include:

Representation of a former official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in a securities fraud investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office;

Representation of a former senior aide to Senator John Edwards in the Senator’s campaign-finance fraud trial;

Representation of a defense-contractor employee who was a subject of a grand jury investigation into federal procurement fraud;

Representation of a reporter who was a subject of News Corporation’s internal investigation into phone-hacking and related matters;

Representation of an attorney called as a witness in the trial of a former BP engineer charged with obstruction of justice for deleting emails;

Representation of attorneys called as witnesses in the prosecution of a former BP employee charged with obstruction of Congress for misrepresenting the flow rate from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill;

Representation of a potential witness in the federal criminal investigation of corruption of the Governor of Virginia;

Representation of Congressional staffers who were witnesses in a federal criminal investigation related to Congressional travel; and

Representation of numerous broker-dealer personnel, including the AML compliance officer, a compliance analyst, administrative managers, financial advisors, and a client associate, who were witnesses in SEC and FINRA investigations.

Advice to a media company related to the purchase and broadcast of a surreptitiously recorded conversation related to the racial attitudes of the owner of a professional basketball team;

Advice to a media company related to the purchase and broadcast of a surreptitiously recorded conversation in which an actor confessed to a therapist about past criminal conduct;

Advice to a global media and entertainment company related to criminal charges brought against an employee in Italy; and

Advice to a global media and entertainment company related to compliance with law enforcement requests and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Prior Experience

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Leotta served in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland for more than eight years, as an Assistant US Attorney prosecuting fraud and public corruption, Appellate Chief, and Ethics Advisor. His government service culminated in a detail to the White House Counsel’s Office as Deputy Associate Counsel.

As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Leotta investigated charges of fraud in government contracting and procurement, corruption in federal and state government, mortgage fraud, health-care fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement from federal programs, and numerous other federal offenses. Some highlights of his career as a federal prosecutor include:

A wire-fraud and obstruction-of-justice trial against a commercial mortgage lender;

An embezzlement trial against a school principal; and

A health-care fraud investigation of a national health-insurance company.

As Appellate Chief, Mr. Leotta managed the appellate work of more than 70 AUSAs. He directed the briefing of hundreds of briefs in the Fourth Circuit US Court of Appeals, trained AUSAs in appellate advocacy, and personally argued cases of particular significance to the US Attorney’s Office.

As Ethics Advisor, Mr. Leotta advised the US Attorney, Assistant US Attorneys and staff on financial disclosures, conflicts of interest, and other ethics rules.

During his detail to the White House Counsel’s Office, Mr. Leotta helped manage a team of 12 attorneys vetting President Obama’s Executive Branch nominees.

Prior to his government service, Mr. Leotta was a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly LLP where he focused on First Amendment and media law issues, including representation of the National Enquirer and Star Magazine. He represented corporations involved in libel and defamation claims, contract disputes, employment actions, attorney-malpractice claims, and securities enforcement actions, among other matters.

After graduation from Harvard Law School, Mr. Leotta served as a clerk to the Hon. Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Honors & Awards

Mr. Leotta is a 2011 recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his work on the Jack Abramoff investigation, including a trial of Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying partner.

Mr. Leotta received the Department of Justice EOUSA Director’s Award for superior performance in 2008 for the RICO prosecution of a Maryland state senator and other individuals.

Mr. Leotta received the Skolnik Award from the US Attorney’s Office in 2007 for outstanding professionalism, determination and creativity in a case of unusual public significance.

Publications & News

Global Investigations Review Just Anti-Corruption recently gave WilmerHale's Washington DC office an “elite” ranking for its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) practice, putting it among the top firms in the nation's capital.

An article entitled "You May Already Be a Government Agent: United States v. Carson And What Will Turn a Corporate Internal Investigation Into 'State Action'" by Michael Leotta and Haryle Kaldis, published in the February 22, 2013 edition of Bloomberg BNA's White Collar Crime Report.

August 1, 2004

Supreme Court Overrules the Nexus Requirement in 18 U.S.C. § 666

An article by Michael J. Leotta appearing in Business Crimes Bulletin, August 2004.

Speaking Engagements

Professional Activities

Mr. Leotta serves on the Board of Governors of the Federal Bar Association, Maryland Chapter, and is co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Financial Institution Fraud/Money Laundering and Patriot Act Subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Section White Collar Crime Committee. He has served as assistant treasurer to the campaign of Congressman John P. Sarbanes. He has served as Treasurer and sits on the Board of the Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. Appellate Advocacy Fellowship, Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to public service and appellate impact litigation. He has also served as the President and on the Board of the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Maryland. .

In every area of practice, WilmerHale brings the insight, dedication to excellence, and commitment to client service needed for our clients to achieve their business objectives. Our five-department structure and team approach to service enable us to provide the highest level of responsiveness and access to lawyers with the most appropriate experience.